Chapter 22: Leftovers

Friday night has come and I am back at home, writing tonight's entry from my computer. The whole email thing worked fine for last night's entry, but is definitely not something I would want to make a habit of. The post is also in a different font than the rest of the blog, which is strange and something I am still working on figuring out how to change. (Correction, something that I have just figured out and have gone ahead and changed.) I must say, one of my favorite things about blogspot is the fact that they make customizing and editing and correcting errors such a simple process. I appreciate that about this site. Just a little leftover gratitude from yesterday, which is cool. There's a lot more where that came from, actually.

Today was a pretty good day. It was very relaxed. I woke up on the futon in my sister's living room around 10:30am to find that my sister and her girlfriend were gone. They had an issue that had arisen yesterday that needed attending to first thing this morning, so I kind of expected that. I basically just laid there for a while catching up on my Twitter and such from my cell phone, most of which I hadn't really checked the day before. There wasn't really too much to catch up on. I think most folks decided to step away from the social media and focus on what was actually going on around them yesterday. I know I did, and based on the fact that Twitter and Facebook were basically just full of random "Happy Thanksgiving" messages, I think most people I know did the same. It was a good idea for me, too, because I really got to take the time to enjoy the company of my family and friends. It was a really good day.

Today, after getting up and laying around checking Twitter and such, I got up and got dressed. Once I was dressed and ready for the day, I found that my sister and her girlfriend were home and we all decided to get ready to go out and check out some Black Friday shopping. When I say we checked out Black Friday sales, I mean we went to places like Big Lots and Wal-Mart. None of us had the money to do any REAL shopping, but managed to find some good deals. I picked up some three dollar DVDs at Big Lots, including "The Darjeeling Limited," which was exciting because I love Wes Anderson and have yet to see this film. One of the main reasons I love Wes Anderson is because he loves to cast one of my absolute favorite actors and one of the men of my dreams, Jason Schwartzmann. I am in love with that guy. Every movie he does is brilliant, and even more brilliant is his musical project, Coconut Records. I absolutely love his debut record, "Nighttiming," and have yet to listen to the follow-up, despite having heard bits and pieces of it that sound amazing. I also picked up one of my all-time favorite movies, "Josie & The Pussycats." I really believe that this is one of the most under-rated films of recent times. It is a very interesting, offbeat commentary on the record industry told in a bright, upbeat, funny way. Parker Posey is absolutely brilliant in it, too, and this was also my first glimpse of Missi Pyle, who has become one of my absolute favorite funny ladies.

Then it was off to Wal-Mart, which is one of my least favorite places in the world, but is a necessary evil in this day and age. At Wal-Mart I bought something that I had never bought for myself before; pajamas! They had these special sets on sale that included a top, pajama pants, slippers and a beanie all in a special little mesh bag, in case you are traveling and need to bring pajamas with you. The best part? They are Pac-Man pajamas! They have Pac-Man and the little ghost guys all over the pants and a retro Pac-Man logo on the shirt. They are adorable and so comfortable! I also picked up a book for my Mother while I was there, by the pastor Joel Osteen, who she loves. It really seemed like the Black Friday deals at Wal-Mart were wholly unimpressive in comparison to previous years. Once again seeing the effects of the economy in this country right now. It sucks.

After leaving Wal-Mart, we decided to go back to their house and watched the movie "Four Christmases," which I was actually pleasantly surprised by. It had 2 marks against it right off the bat: it is a Christmas movie, and it stars Vince Vaughn. These are two things that I am generally not into at all. Christmas movies I am a little more lenient with, depending on who is in them. For example, my favorite Christmas movie is "A Diva's Christmas Carol," starring Vanessa Williams. Put her in pretty much anything and I am gonna enjoy it, (yes, I even liked that movie "Eraser" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.) I also really enjoyed both of the Dolly Parton Christmas movies, particularly "Unlikely Angel." In general, though, it is not a genre that I enjoy at all. Vince Vaughn movies, typically, are just not something I enjoy. I find him incredibly irritating, (right down to a real-life meeting with him, completely shit-faced, in an IHOP in West Hollywood after a night of clubbing.) His presence in a movie is generally enough to leave me feeling irritated with a movie right off the bat. This movie, however, had a saving grace in the form of Reese Witherspoon. I have really liked most everything she has done, (especially "Legally Blonde," in which she portrayed one of my biggest inspirations in life, Elle Woods,) and this movie was no exception. I especially enjoyed the fact that it was a story set at Christmas, but it wasn't a story ABOUT Christmas. It was the story of a couple figuring out that they don't know each other as well as they thought and reassessing their relationship and future together. It was really good. After that, we ate some leftovers from yesterday and played Guitar Hero and Sing Star, both of which are games that I have become obsessed with over the past two days. Guitar Hero is extremely fun, even though I am really bad at it. Over the past two days, though, I have managed to improve quite a bit. I only wish there were a broader scope of music you could play on the game. It was a lot of 70s and 80s rock music, which I am familiar with but it isn't really my style at all. The songs I did best on were the more modern ones that I am very familiar with, especially "When You Were Young" by The Killers. I know the notes and the rhythm of that song, so it was considerably easier to play. This is just further proof that I am right in my decision to go for a keyboard instead of guitar. If I can't even handle the Guitar Hero button pushing form of playing guitar, how do I expect myself to ever catch on to the real thing? I was much better at Sing Star, which was really to be expected. I may not be able to figure out the guitar, but I need no major help when it comes to singing. That is one of my strongest suits.

After an evening of games and such, I returned to my own house and ate more leftovers. I felt bad yesterday that I didn't stick around to eat dinner with my Mom, but she was so caught up with her boyfriend that I don't think it made any real difference and it probably worked out better for her to not have me here. This is yet another reason why I feel like the whole concept of moving to California is a good thing; it will give her a chance to build a life with her boyfriend without feeling guilty about what I am doing. That is a big issue that she has, I think, because there was a situation in the past where she did basically choose her husband at the time over me. It was one of the most difficult experiences I have had in my life, but I have gotten over it. I think she still feels guilty for that, though. This situation is completely different, though. This is not her choosing her boyfriend over me, this is us both recognizing that our lives are heading in different directions and following our own individual paths. There is nothing to feel bad about in this situation; this is a situation to be celebrated!

I also spent this evening watching the second half of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." After seeing the entire movie, the thing I found most interesting about it was the fact that I feel the opposite at the end of this movie as I did at the end of the book. When reading the book series and seeing all the fan hype about Team Edward vs. Team Jacob, I found it ridiculous. Throughout the entire book series, it seems so clear that Edward should be the choice. He is a clear winner in the books, and Jacob is a ridiculous, boring, small-minded child. In the movie, though, I wound up feeling the exact opposite. Edward, in the films, comes across like a piece of shit who is not worth the time or the trouble. Jacob, on the other hand, seems like a genuine, sweet, caring guy who is everything a girl could possibly want. Watching her kind of choose Edward in the film is almost painful and I found myself wanting to shout at the screen, "You stupid bitch, stick with the werewolf boy!" I think the main reason for this is because the director of the first film, Catherine Hardwicke, did a terrible job of portraying the budding romance of Edward and Bella, while the director of this film did an amazing job of building up the relationship between Jacob and Bella. In the films it really seems like the opposite is true of the books: Jacob seems like the clear winner and I can't imagine why anyone would be Team Edward. Interesting. As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, as well, Taylor Lautner, (who plays Jacob,) is leaps and bounds more attractive than Robert Pattinson, (who plays Edward.) I couldn't help but notice, in one of the ending scenes where Edward takes off his shirt, that he has an oddly shaped body. He has the same oddly shaped body that Daniel Radcliffe has, but Daniel Radcliffe pulls it off much better. I think because he is shorter and stockier, and considerably more built. On him it looks nice, despite it's odd shape. On Robert Pattinson it just looks odd. I suppose the movie isn't about his body, though - it is about Taylor Lautner's body, which is in perfect form. For a 17 year old boy, that body is incredibly impressive and incredibly attractive, (in a jailbait way, of course.) Overall, though, I actually really loved the movie. It was immensely more entertaining and well put together than "Twilight" was. I also have to mention that I really feel like Kristen Stewart has gotten a really unfair rep amongst "Twilight" fans. She is actually a very talented, and I think she did a brilliant job in this film. In the first, she didn't do so well but also didn't have a whole lot to work with. I get that she is really whiny and always bitching and moaning about fame, but underneath all of that she is a very talented actress and I think it is a shame that people refuse to recognize that.

I also spent a little time this evening listening to the freshly leaked album, "Just Like You" by Allison Iraheta, from this past season of "American Idol." Adam Lambert was, of course, my favorite contestant and my pick to win right from the start, but Allison was my second choice. I really expected the show to come down to those two, but sadly Allison fell victim to the fourth place Idol curse. Every season there is somebody who clearly should be top two who gets kicked out in the fourth spot, (best examples being Tamyra Gray, Latoya London and Chris Daughtry, who all deserved at least second place.) I heard the first single from Allison's album, "Friday I'll Be Over U," about a month ago and was pretty underwhelmed by it. I am still underwhelmed by it, actually, and think it is probably the weakest track on the album. With this album, that is really saying something, too. Sadly, I am pretty disappointed with the whole thing. I think every track on the album falls into two categories: An impersonation of Pink or Classic Rock gone wrong. Don't get me wrong, the album has a few really brilliant tracks but for the most part it is all a little too much. The best track on the album is probably a song called "Pieces," which falls into the Pink category. It is very catchy and has a strong emotional core, which I can relate to a lot. It is essentially a song about holding it together at the end of a relationship and learning to do it on your own again. It is a great song. Another favorite, despite the cheesiest title possible, is "D Is For Dangerous." It also falls into the Pink category. It has a cool concept and is probably the poppiest track on the album. It is a simple song about making wrong decisions, but with clever-ish lyrics like, "J is for jumping off the cliff," and "G is for get out of here." It is a fun, catchy song. Pretty much all the best songs on the record are the ones that sound like Pink, except for one song called, "The Trouble Is..." which is reminiscent of a great old Janis Joplin style song. It is pretty while remaining rough around the edges. This is the best of the Classic Rock sounding songs. Overall, though, it really feels like the album is trying a little too hard to be edgy and never actually hits the mark. Even the songs mentioned above, which are my favorites, are nowhere near being edgy in any way. Sadly, I don't foresee good things for this album for two reasons: first, it's not that great and second, it is not being promoted AT ALL. She has basically been given the kiss of death before even getting her feet off the ground. I feel bad for her, really, because she showed on Idol that she had the potential to do something great. This is always the problem with the "rock" types on American Idol. They never come off the show doing anything very interesting. Adam Lambert escaped that fate by never really being pigeon-holed as a rocker, or anything else, because he was so versatile. As soon as you thought, "Oh, he's a rock guy," he'd turn around and perform a soft, beautiful ballad or something more pop. What makes his album work so well is that it encompasses everything he represented on Idol, but takes it all a step further and actually is edgy and unique. Allison, sadly, didn't quite hit the mark.

I am completely exhausted at this point. Between tryptophan and the fact that I didn't sleep the best last night, I am absolutely ready to pass out. All day long it has felt like it should be a Sunday, so I am very grateful that it is not and that I still have two days of weekend left. See, there is more of that leftover gratitude from yesterday. I hope to keep a little bit of that leftover gratitude for every single day, unlike the Thanksgiving food leftovers which are dwindling more and more already. Tomorrow? Mall day with Whitney. Maybe a movie. My brother is supposed to be coming to town, as well, but he's got shit to do tomorrow night. I probably won't wind up seeing him until Sunday. That will be a nice way to cap off the weekend. Now, though, it is time for bed.